Actor Alan Cumming, 48, got his big break in Scottish TV soap Take The High Road. He played Nightcrawler in X2 and now stars in gay adoption film Any Day Now.

What’s the film about? It’s about a gay couple in the 1970s who want to adopt a Down’s syndrome child. It’s about their fight against homophobia but it also has some drag, some songs and some laughs.

It’s a period piece but is it still pertinent to what’s going on today? It’s completely pertinent because the reason the character isn’t allowed to have this safe, loving family is because of ignorance, homophobia and prejudice. Those things haven’t gone away, and in some parts of the world they are back with a vengeance. It’s a period piece but in some ways that allows people to stand back and be able to see the present more clearly. We think such great strides have been made, but not in terms of bigotry, or adopting if you’re a same-sex couple.

Is there much difference between the US and UK when it comes to gay-rights issues? The US is much more puritanical when it comes to sexuality, so maybe gay rights is placed in that context and is more sensationalised. The US is a huge country with so many political differences, it makes it difficult to quantify if there’s one national voice about gay rights.

You play a drag queen – what would your drag name be? If you go by your first pet and your mother’s maiden name, it would be Shona Darling. Which is sassy but also quite homely.

Would you like to adopt? I’ve thought about it over the years – quite seriously – but I’m in a great relationship and I got older and content, so we decided not to have kids. Not that I hate them but sometimes when I’ve had a big night out and lie in until noon I think: ‘Imagine if we’d had kids now, that would be awful.’

Do you miss anything about the UK now you’re a US citizen? I have joint citizenship and a place in Edinburgh so I can go back and forth. The only thing I miss when I’m in the US is the common experience – in the UK I can make a joke about Anne Diamond and people know who it is. Curly Wurly jokes don’t go down well in America.

You recently did a show with Liza Minnelli – how did that go? Great. We did it in New York, and we might do some more at Christmas. I do it and think: ‘How the hell did this happen?’ We have a good chemistry as a duo. We sing a couple of songs together, then separately, then we do a medley at the end – from Cabaret. I love her. She’s such a trouper.

What have you got in common with her? A sense of fun and openness in the way we perform. That’s why we’re a good combo. Not much else. Our backgrounds are very different.

What was doing a one-man Macbeth on Broadway like? It was intense. I was worried that I wasn’t going to be able to do it. The production was so physically demanding. I did 85 performances. I thought I was going to die at one point.

Why did you want to do it? I did it last year with the National Theatre of Scotland. I wanted to do Macbeth and then this director had the idea to set it in a psychiatric unit and for me to play all the parts, so I was flattered into doing it. I thought it would be exciting. I wanted to do it on Broadway. It nearly killed me, though. Every now and then you should do something challenging.

Has it put you off doing stage work for a while? I’m back doing The Good Wife now. I do that for eight months a year, which gives me time for other stuff. TV isn’t as intense as doing a play and I’ll be back on stage soon.

What have been the highlights of your career? I’m proudest when I feel I’ve really affected people and confounded their expectations, which Macbeth and Any Day Now have done.

Who have you learned the most from working with? Myself. As I’ve got older, it’s got easier as you learn how to do things.
Are you disappointed you’re not in the new X-Men film? No, and I wouldn’t have been available.

Have you got any unfulfilled ambitions? No. I’m open to what-ever comes along. I never said: ‘I want to do a one-man Macbeth.’ Often people are too goal-led. You should see what comes your way and give it your all.

Any Day Now is out tomorrow.

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